Expelled former Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. is now detained at the National Bureau of Investigation’s custodial facility at the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) in Muntinlupa City.
Teves, who was deported from Timor-Leste on Thursday, is facing charges for 10 counts of murder, which includes the 2023 assassination of Negros Oriental governor Roel Degamo, 12 counts of frustrated murder and four counts of attempted murder.
The former congressman, who insisted he is innocent of the charges lodged against him, wept at a National Bureau of Investigation press conference on Thursday as his mother, Zenaida Teves, spoke of her having missed him.
NBI Director Jaime Santiago said Teves is detained at NBP Building 14, which in the past was used to house convicted drug lords.
After evading the law for two years Teves was brought back to the country on a Philippine Air Force plane by a team led by Santiago.
Congresswoman-elect Janice Degamo (Neg.Or., 3rd District), reacting to Teves’ weeping at the NBI press conference, asked ”Did you also cry when you saw the CCTV footage of your gunmen murdering our family members? Did you also cry when you saw your fellow NegOrenses beg for justice?”
“Or do you only cry now that you have realized your reign of terror is over and justice has finally caught up to you?” she added.
She said it is appalling to hear lawyer Ferdinand Topacio continuously refer to his client, Teves, as a “trophy” for the Marcos administration.
“Let’s set the record straight, this is not about politics, this is about justice,” she said.
“Calling Arnie Teves a trophy is a slap in the face to the families of the many innocent people killed by the Teves terrorist group, including my husband, Governor Roel Degamo. These weren’t political casualties, they were sons, daughters, husbands and wives, brutally taken from their loved ones,” she said.
Instead of turning every issue into a political drama, Topacio should focus on what truly matters, explaining why at least two of the gunmen who murdered her husband directly named his client as the mastermind, Degamo said.
“That is what the people of Negros Oriental and the entire country deserve answers to. We will not be distracted. We will not be silenced. We will see this through,” she added.*